Meighan Simmons is Tennessee's top returning scorer at 11.1 points per game.

Oct. 23, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference released its 2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll Tuesday, and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers have been picked to finish fourth in the 16-team league by SEC and national media members.

The UT women accumulated two first-place votes and 316 poll points to rank fourth behind defending league champ and favorite Kentucky, Georgia and Vanderbilt. UK garnered 20 first-place votes and 376 points, while Georgia (352 pts.) picked up one vote to win the league and Vanderbilt (336) received two.

Tennessee placed one player on the Preseason All-SEC Second Team, as junior guard Meighan Simmons earned that distinction. The native of Cibolo, Texas, is the Big Orange's top returning scorer, having averaged 11.1 points per contest in 2011-12 while playing 36 games and starting 22 of them.

Simmons, who scored in double figures 21 times as a sophomore and upped her scoring average to 15.0 ppg. in the NCAA tournament, was an AP and Coaches All-SEC Second Team selection as a freshman and an honorable mention AP All-American. She also was the 2011 SEC Coaches Freshman of the Year and AP Newcomer of the Year.

Kentucky's A'dia Mathies was the clear choice of the media for SEC Women's Basketball Player of the Year with 20 votes. The remaining votes were for Vanderbilt's Christina Foggie, Florida's Jennifer George and Georgia's Anne Marie Armstrong.

Joining Mathies, Foggie, George and Armstrong on the All-SEC First Team was Kelsey Bone of Texas A&M. On the second team with Simmons were Sarah Watkins, Arkansas; Jasmine Hassell, Georgia; Samarie Walker, Kentucky; and Ieasia Walker, South Carolina.

Poll points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team and the Preseason SEC Player of the Year.

The 2012-13 SEC Media Preseason Poll tips off SEC Basketball Media Days, October 25 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. The SEC Women's Basketball Coaches Poll will be released on Tuesday, Nov. 6.